The present invention generally relates to a device and method for measuring a body part of a being, such as a limb (including a leg), and especially a body party receiving treatment for various circulatory disorders. More specifically the present invention relates to a device and method for measuring a body part using laser beams and without physically touching the body part to be measured.
The inventive device and method may be used to measure the thickness of a body part suffering from any or all of the following circulatory disorders: deep vein thrombosis (DVT), lymphedema, chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), varicose veins, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The circulatory disorders often make a body part thicker than normal. The inventive device may also be used to measure the extent of swelling in body parts resulting from any cause.
Deep Vein Thrombosis is a blood clot that can form in a person's legs and sometimes move to his or her lungs, where it could potentially be fatal. DVT is usually caused by immobility. DVT is commonly treated with compression devises.
DVT kills 200,000 Americans each year, more than AIDS and breast cancer combined. 74% of Americans do not know of the condition or symptoms. This little known condition hospitalizes 600,000 people each year. About 2 million people in the United States have a pulmonary embolism each year and more than 10% die from it. Nine out of ten cases of pulmonary embolism are caused by blood clots that form in the legs and then travel to the lungs. Most who die from DVT do so within 30-60 minutes after symptoms start. Pulmonary embolisms occur equally in men and women. The risk of having a pulmonary embolism doubles for every 10 years after the age of 60.
Lymphedema is an abnormal build up of lymph fluid which occurs when a lymph system becomes blocked or impaired. Usually, the affected area involves an extremity. Lymphedema causes the extremity to swell and become heavy and limited in mobility and function. Lymphedema is commonly treated with compression devices. Primary lymphedema is present at birth and effects 2,000,000 people worldwide, effects 10 women to every 1 man, and effects 10 legs to every 1 arm.
Secondary lymphedema is caused by scarring, injury to, or removal of lymph nodes. Secondary lymphedema effects 25,000,000 people worldwide and 2.5 million in the United States.
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a condition where blood pools in the veins of the lower legs. The veins return blood to the heart from all the body's organs. To do this the calf muscles and the muscles in the feet need to contract with each step to squeeze the veins and push the blood upward. To keep the blood flowing up, and not back down, the veins contain one-way valves. Chronic venous insufficiency occurs when these valves become damaged, allowing the blood to leak backward and pool. Massage techniques are currently used for treatment, along with pressure stockings and compression. Sometimes bypass surgery or valve repair is required.
CVI is a significant public health problem in the United States. About 2-5% of all Americans have change associated with CVI. Approximately 24 million Americans have varicose veins and approximately 6 million Americans have skin changes associated with CVI. Venous stasis ulcers affect approximately 500,000 people. The mean incidence for hospital admission for CVI is 92 per 100,000 admissions. CVI can lead to leg ulcers which can be severe and are responsible for 100,000 cases of disability in the United States alone. Incidences of CVI typically occur in women aged 40-49 and men aged 70-79.
Varicose veins are swollen veins that you can see through the skin. They often look blue, bulging, and twisted. Left untreated, varicose veins may worsen over time. Large varicose veins can cause aching and feelings of fatigue as well as skin changes like rashes, redness, and sores. There are three kinds of veins in a person's legs: the superficial veins, which lie closest to the skin, the deep veins, which lie in groups of muscles, and perforating veins, which connect the superficial veins to the deep veins. The deep veins lead to the vena cava, the body's largest vein, which runs directly to the heart. Varicose veins occur in the superficial veins in your legs.
When a person is in the upright position, the blood in his or her leg veins must work against gravity to return to the heart. To accomplish this, the leg muscles squeeze the deep veins of the legs and feet. One-way flaps, called valves, in the veins keep blood flowing in the right direction. When the leg muscles contract, the valves inside the veins open. When the legs relax, the valves close. This prevents blood from flowing in reverse, back down the legs. The entire process of sending blood back to the heart is called the venous pump. Varicose veins are commonly treated with compression devices, sclerotherapy, ablation, laser treatment, or vein stripping.
As many as 40 million Americans, most of them women, have varicose veins. Fifty percent of all women will suffer from varicose veins by their mid-50s.
When the arteries in the legs become blocked, the legs do not receive enough blood or oxygen. This may be due to a condition called peripheral artery disease (PAD), sometimes called leg artery disease. PAD is commonly treated by lifestyle changes, compression devices, medication, exercise, angioplasty/stenting, bypass surgery, endarterectomy, or amputation. One in three people age 70 or older has PAD. PAD affects about 8 million Americans. Persons with PAD also have four to five times higher risk of a heart attack or stroke.
The above conditions affect tens of millions of people. One common treatment opportunity is using compression devices.
In treatment of the aforementioned circulatory disorders, and especially lymphedema, it becomes necessary to measure the thickness of the affected limb or other body part, to determine whether a particular mode of treatment (especially compression therapy) is working. Some lymphedema (like genital lymphedema) is difficult to measure with antiquated devices such as a tape measure. The present invention measures swelling or thickness without physical contact and can measure lymphedema in any body area.